Regulations falling behind science: the artificial distinction between rainbow trout and steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss is perhaps the most popular freshwater sport fish in the United States. The geographic distribution of native Oncorhynchus mykiss within the lower 48 states is limited to a handful of states along and adjacent to the west coast — California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, although it extends south to Baja California and north to British Columbia and Alaska. It is artificially propagated by federal and state fish and game agencies and in private aquaculture for game fishing purposes in hundreds of hatcheries and is now established in all of the 48 lower states, at least 45 countries, and every continent except Antarctica. Fly-fishing enthusiasts who live east of the Rockies might be surprised to […] Written by Paul S. Weiland January 12, 2021January 12, 2021
Risk aversion and confirmation bias in conservation planning Choosing among alternative management actions to protect endangered species can be a fraught exercise in light of uncertainty about the outcomes. As Stefano Canessa and his colleagues point out in their article Risk aversion and uncertainty create a conundrum for planning recovery of a critically endangered species recently published in Conservation Science and Practice, the prospect is even more daunting when one or more of the alternatives has the potential to worsen the status of the species. That said, science has the potential to provide decision-makers with valuable information in such circumstances, thereby reducing uncertainty. Canessa and his colleagues assess nest protection options for critically endangered regent honeyeaters, native […] Written by Paul S. Weiland November 20, 2020February 11, 2021
California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife must do more to conform to best practices for Independent Science Review In recent years, the Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) has taken steps to strengthen its science capacity in response to the enactment of AB 2402 by the Legislature and Governor in 2012. Among other things, AB 2402 required the Department and the Fish and Game Commission (Commission) to develop a strategic plan and authorized the Department to establish a Science Institute to inform the work of the Department and the Commission. To strengthen its science capacity, the Department developed a Scientific Integrity Policy in 2017. That Policy states “work that has a substantial scientific or management impact or large expenditure of funds or is especially controversial in nature should […] Written by Paul S. Weiland November 5, 2020January 7, 2021
A return on investment perspective highlights the need for incentive-based conservation efforts Niell and Boyd make the unremarkable, but frequently under-appreciated, point that most private sector parties weighing participation in conservation efforts will conduct some form of return-on-investment (ROI) analysis to evaluate the benefits of investing in conservation efforts relative to the attending costs. Written by Paul S. Weiland October 11, 2020December 15, 2020
A cynical display of concern for imperiled steelhead in the Central Valley After suing the federal government, in Spring 2020 the State of California sought an emergency injunction in federal district court requiring the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to curtail water exports to central and southern California to protect steelhead migrating down the San Joaquin River and through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta on their way to the Pacific Ocean. The State argued that, if the Bureau failed to impose the San Joaquin River inflow to export ratio (referred to as the I:E ratio) in May 2020, it would undermine the overall prospects for recovery of the steelhead. In litigation in the same federal court less than a decade ago, the State argued […] Written by Paul S. Weiland October 10, 2020January 7, 2021
